Reinforced plastic button



Sept. 2, 1941. F. G. PURINTON REINFORCED PLASTIC BUTTON Filed Oct. 24, 1940 rsfenaa sept. 2, 1941 UNITED STATE f 2,254,447v I s PATENT OFFICE f namroncnp ms'rrc nU'r'roN Forrest G. Purinton, Waterbury, Conn., signor a to The Patent Button Company, Waterbury, Conn., :corporation of Connecticut A Application october 24, i940, serial No. scacco 5 claims. (el. 24-90) My invention relates to new and useful improvements in reinforced plastic buttons, and is back or shell in the manufacture of the button,l

whereas in the present application, the button is designed andarranged to use a conventional type of button back or shell, thus doing away with the necessity of additional dies for the shell.

An object of the present invention is to provide a plastic .button which is reinforced by a button back or shell and wherein the pre-molded plastic body is provided with a plate, on which there is stamped the desired insignia. The plate, in turn, is provided with an upwardly and outwardly and thenA downwardly extending ange, so that this flange of the insignia plate may be rimmed about the peripheral rim of the button shell, thus lessening the expense in the manufacture of the button.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reinforced plastic button wherein thebody or head is pre-molded and has embedded therein an insignia plate which, in turn, forms a peripheral rim for the plastic body and also is provided with a rim to be clenched or clamped about V the-peripheral shell of the button.

Still another object of the invention is to pro-` vide a button that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, light in weight, pleasing in appearance, and the two parts easily assembled.'

With these and other objects in view, the in- .vention consists in certain new and novel ar- Fig. 1 is a top plan view on an enlarged scale e of my new and improved button;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 and showing the button as attached to its garment;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the new and improved insignia plate;

Fig. 4 isv a sectional view taken 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the premolded plastic body with the insignia plate ernbedded therein; and

on the 'line F18. 6 is a sectional view of the conventional button back or shell.

Referring-now to the drawing and for the moment to Fig. 6, there -is shown the shell l with the'integral hub 2 and the outwardly and upwardly extending ange 3. The shell has the opening or perforation 4 in the bottom of the hub, as may be seen in the several views. 'Ihis shell is a conventional type in the manufacture of metal back buttons.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, there is shown what I term the insignia plate 5, which is preferably stamped from relatively thin sheet metal and on the outer surface. thereof may be seen the raised insignia 6, which I have shownl in the present instance as forming the letters P B Co, although it will, of course, be understood that any letters or other insignia may be stamped in this plate, depending on the requirements.

The plate is provided with the prick-point openings l positioned between theletters and the further prick-point openings 8 in the islands of the letters. These openings I and 8 form passageways for the iiow of the plasticwhen the plate is molded in the plastic body of the button.

As mentioned in the companion cases, the plate 5 is placed in the mold in anv inverted position from that shown, and a plastic pill, preferably of Bakelite, is deposited on the plate. The mold is then closed and heat applied, so that the Bakelite will flow to the desired shape and through the openings l and 8, covering the plate to fill up the spaces between the letters and also the islands within the letters.l

By providing theseseverai openings between the letters and in the islands, all of the plastic materialab'ove the p1ate.is weil anchored to the main body of the plastic material.

From Fig. 1, it will be seen that the outer surfaces of the letters will lie flush with the face of the button and the said letters will form a contrasting appearance with the Bakelite background. These insignia plates may be of dierent metals, and the letters being of a polished appearance will show up exceptionally well against the black or contrasting background.

It will be seen from Fig. 2 that the plastic maf diameter of the shank is greater than the diameter of the bore. However, during an attaching operation, there is great pressure exerted on the button head which is suicient to drive the prong through the material I5, through the opening 4 in the shell, and well up into the bore II in the hub of the button.

It will-also be noticed that the shank I2 is pointed, as at I 6, to readily pierce the' cloth I5 and to cause the prong to wedge itself into the bore above-mentioned during the attaching operation. v

Referring again to the plate 5, it will be seen that besides the plate having a central domeshaped porti Jn, there is provided an upwardly and outwardly extending flange Il, which then extends downwardly to form the additional rim or flange I 8.

In the assembling of the button, the pre-molded plastic body, as shown in Fig. 5, with its embedded plate will be tightly fitted within the shell I.

Thus. the plastic hub will be completely reinforced and likewise the Plastic body or head will be reinforced by the shell, as this plastic body follows the general contour of the aforementioned shell I.

The flange I8 fitting over the upwardly and outwardly extending flange 3 of the shell will be pressed inwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, thus rigidly binding together the shell, the insignia plate, and the plastic body. 'I'he surface of the button may then be polished or lacquered. The contrasting insignia within the plastic background framed by the metal ange presents an extremely pleasing appearance.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a button consisting of apre-molded body having a chamber or bore to receive the prong of a fastener. The body is also provided with thevinsignia plate, which plate not only provides the insignia but reinforces the body and provides a means for clamping the body within the conventional button back or shell.

It will also be seen that the button is one that is relatively inexpensive to manufacturel light in weight, pleasing in appearance, and strong in construction.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A reinforced plastic button including a metal back shell having an upwardly extending peripheral flange, a pre-molded plastic body tightly fitted within the shell, a metal plate having raised insignia stamped thereon embedded in the plastic body and the face of the insignia visible in the plastic body, the said plate being dome-shaped and having a curled peripheral rim, the rim of the shell crimped within the curled rim of said plate to thereby secure the body and shell to each other, and the said plastic body provided with a chamber to receive the prong of a fastener.

2. A tack button including a metal shell having an upwardly extending peripheral flange, a pre-molded plastic body filling said shell, said plastic body having a plate embedded below vthe top surface thereof and said plate provided with raised insignia visible from the face of the plastic body, said plate being bent back upon itself about its peripheral edge and the rim of the shell crimped within the bent rim of the plate to thereby bind together the plate, plastic bodyand shell.

3. A reinforced plastic button including a metal back shell having an upwardly extending peripheral flange, a pre-molded plastic body fitted within the shell, an insignia plate embedded just below the surface of the plastic body and the insignia visible from the surface of the plastic body, said plate extending beyond the plastic body and provided with an upwardly and outwardly, and downwardly extending flange to grip the flange of said metal shell, and the plastic body provided with a bore adapted to receive and grip the prong of a fastener.

4. A tack button including a metal shell having a hub, a pre-molded plastic body fitted within the shell and filling said hub, an insignia plate provided with raised portions and said plate also being perforated, the said plate being embedded Within the plastic body and having a curled rim extending outwardly beyond the peripheral edge of the plastic body, and said rim secured over the upper peripheral edge of the shell to bind together the plastic body, plate, and shell.

5. A tack button comprising in part a premolded plastic body including a hub, the said body and hub fitted within a metal body shell, the said plastic body having a perforated plate embedded therein and slightly below the surface thereof and said plate provided with raised portions visible 'from the top surface of'the plastic body, the saidvplate also extending beyond the marginaledge of the plastic body to provide a peripheral flange and said fiange crimped to the body shell, the said plastic body provided with a bore extending up through the hub to a point short of the embedded plate, and the said bore 

